Queen Victoria's small diamond crown came about because of her long mourning for Prince Albert. After his death in December 1861 she withdrew almost entirely from public life and wore widow's dress, including a white cap and veil, until her own death forty years later. Her absence from state ceremonies drew growing criticism, and by 1870 the government had persuaded her to appear in public again. she would not, however, wear the Imperial State Crown. She found it heavy and uncomfortable, and in any case it could not be worn over a widow's cap. What she needed was a crown small enough to rest on top of the cap, so that she could appear as sovereign while remaining in mourning.

The Crown Jewellers, R. & S. Garrard, made the crown in 1870. It has an openwork silver frame set with 1,187 brilliant-cut and rose-cut diamonds. The Royal Collection notes that it was designed above all to be light and comfortable, and suggests that Queen Charlotte's nuptial crown may have served as a model. At roughly 9 cm across and 10 cm high, it is too small to hold the velvet cap that lines larger crowns. Victoria wore it for the first time at the State Opening of Parliament on 9 February 1871. From then on she used it regularly on state occasions and at formal Drawing-rooms, and she chose it for many of her later portraits. The figure of the old queen in black, with the little crown perched on her veil, is still how most people picture her. When she died in 1901 the crown was placed on her coffin at Osborne. It is now on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.